The continuing saga of the acrimony between West Bengal Government and the Centre took another turn for the worse today after Union Home Minister Amit Shah sent a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, expressing his dismay over the state government stonewalling efforts by the Centre to facilitate transportation of migrant labourers back to their home state of West Bengal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the labourers.
In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state.
Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains being run by the central government to facilitate the transport of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, the home minister said in the letter that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home.
"Central government has facilitated more than two lakh migrants to reach home. Migrants from West Bengal are also eager to reach home. Central govt is facilitating but we are not getting the expected support from West Bengal," wrote Amit Shah in a letter to Mamata Banerjee.
Amit Shah further added the state government was not allowing trains to enter West Bengal.
"But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This will create further hardship for them," Shah wrote.
This is the latest instance of allegations and counter-allegations via letters that have been going on since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, wherein the Centre has accused the West Bengal government of covering up deaths related to the virus and strategies that are counterproductive to containing the virus.
The West Bengal government, on the other hand, called the Centre's recommendations to the state, another politically motivated move aimed at showing the Mamata-led government in poor light.
As per the Ministry of Health's latest numbers, West Bengal has one of the worst mortality rates due to COVID-19 in the country, with 160 deaths and 1,678 active cases.
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